A rough draft of a brief article on the Federal Marriage Amendment

[More Than A Feeling]

In his first State of the Union address after being reelected, George W. Bush renewed his call for Congress to pass the Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage within the United States as solely a union between a man and a woman. This is contrary to the values of America, and should be opposed by people of faith.

Marriage is a sacrament, given to those whom the church believes are worthy of it. The principle of Separation of Church and State expressly forbids government to meddle in the inner workings of churches. Legislation to determine whom God can or cannot join together does two things: it usurps God’s authority (making the government guilty of idolatry), and it infringes upon the free exercise of worship clause of the First Amendment. Not all faith traditions believe that marriage is solely between a man and a woman, so the government would also be promoting a chosen view, a de facto establishment of a state religion. This violates the other religion clause of the First Amendment, the establishment clause.

The fact of the matter is that people of faith have far more to worry about than whether a same-sex couple wishes to commit their lives to each other. After all, Jesus (George W. Bush’s favorite philosopher) never condemned the couple, but he did have harsh words for those who would pray on the street corners and in the synagogues, that they may be seen as righteous, while preying upon the poor and the weak. The Federal Marriage Amendment is a perfect example of this. Certain politicians hold this bill up as proof of their piety, hoping no one will notice that the gap between rich and poor is increasing, AIDS is ravaging already suffering people the world over, and a war is being fought in Iraq and innocent civilians are being murdered.

Let us now proclaim that we reject the President’s attempt to further divide this nation in the name of political expediency, and continue to work to unite the people in support of tolerance, a truly American value.


This is for a newsletter focused on clergy. Comments/Suggestions?

[aden_nak]

1. Structural change suggestion:

"and a war is being fought in Iraq and innocent civilians are being murdered."

A double "and" can cause people to trip up when they read.

"and a war is being fought in Iraq, causing innocent civilians to be murdered."